ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a number of dilemmas inherent in making decisions about special educational provision. It is suggested that these have been highlighted by the 1988 Act and, by local management of schools (LMS). The chapter attempts to monitor some of the effects of the introduction of LMS on pupils with special educational needs and to highlight some of the consequences of introducing market mechanisms into an area such as special educational needs. Brahm Norwich summarises the interdependent relationship between special educational provision and ordinary schooling as follows: Special educational needs is an educational concept which arises in the context of the compulsory schooling of all children. If special educational provision is the responsibility of the London Education Authority, then, apart from occasional input from external agencies, the LEA is the sole provider. Questions of effectiveness in relation to special educational needs, whether couched in terms of value for money, quality of provision or outcome, have rarely been addressed.
